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What is the Charlie Kirk Teleetshirt controversy? Outrage erupts over website capitalizing from tragedy

A T-shirt brand has been accused of making light of Charlie Kirk's death
posted by Sourodeep Dey
Friday 9/12/2025 at 1:52AM EDT
  • Teleetshirt has become embroiled in controversy after it advertised T-shirts mocking Charlie Kirk's death. Here, Kirk poses at The Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire (Image via Getty)
    Teleetshirt has become embroiled in controversy after it advertised T-shirts mocking Charlie Kirk's death. Here, Kirk poses at The Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire (Image via Getty)

    A T-shirt company is facing backlash after it introduced products mocking the recent tragedy which befell Charlie Kirk. Kirk, who was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10, succumbed to his injuries after being taken to a hospital.

    Images from the attack, which took place in front of thousands of students and other individuals, was captured on camera and has been circulating on social media.

    Teleetshirt, a company which sells T-shirts online with trending imagery and wording, is coming under fire after introducing T-shirts to its product range related to the conservative commentator’s death.

    After images of the company’s T-shirts on the Kirk tragedy began circulating on social media, the designs faced intense backlash and Teleetshirt was accused of misusing a tragedy for profit.

    One T-shirt design references the fact that Kirk was engaging in a debate at the time he was shot, and on the background of an image which shows blood pouring out of the podcaster’s neck, displays, “Debate this.”

    Another T-shirt design shows a graphic of a bullet hitting Kirk, and has the caption, “Protect Ya Neck.”

     

     

    This is not the first time that netizens have criticized and debated the authenticity of Teleetshirt

    Netizens have taken to social media platforms and forums to share their previous experiences with buying products online from Teleetshirt, which claims to ship T-shirts with unique design anywhere in the US.

    Internet users on Reddit in particular have documented their past experience with the company and have shared that a majority of their experience has been unsatisfactory, accusing it of being a scam.

    Chronicling their experience with the company while sharing their experience, a netizen revealed that Teleetshirt never shipped their order. The user wrote,

    “TLDR - Placed an order, never received product, and support emails were unresponsive. Couple of reasons. First, when I placed the order at teleteeshirts.com the charge came through under vendor PAYPAL *NGUYENVIETC 4029357733 VN. This "100% Made in USA" seems suspicious given the actual business name that comes through, but not a reason to be initially concerned.”

    The user also shared that the company’s delivery tracking was faulty and its support system was non-existent. They added,

    “Second, I ordered Nov 22nd and looked at tracking information on Dec 1 and the status was "Trash". There is no phone number to contact them, only an email address. I sent multiple emails to that address and never received a response. After a few weeks with no response and no way to get in contact with the company I decided to dispute the charge with PayPal (The number in the supplier info above is PayPal customer service, not teleteeshirt.com). Your results may vary.”

    Another netizen offered insights into their own experience with Teleetshirt, and criticized its slow shipment while writing,

    “I wouldn't buy from them again. I bought an item and it took 14 days to get it and it was going from California to Washington. The website says made in USA and the company address is California so I could have drove down to California picked it up and came home in 2 days and even snail mail should be 6 days max! Ridiculous!”

    A user on X urged other netizens to report their grievances with the brand for mocking Kirk’s death, and remarked,

    “Let them know who you feel! support@teleteeshirt.com"

     

    While sharing original websites where T-shirt designs are listed, many users also claimed that the company uses designs that are not its own.

    A user pointed out that the company does not have permission to use some of the designs it lists on its website, and wrote,

    “Definitely a scam and NOT OFFICIAL merch if anything actually ships. They took the flyer from a festival I am involved in and put it on their website as an offical design. We are not affiliated, nor did they ask permission to make money with our name”

    Another user compared Teleetshirt with another company, and while giving their testimonial, wrote,

    “(teechipus is supposed to be safer than teleteeshirts)”

    While the majority of users felt that the company was a scam and were awaiting their orders months after placing them, some netizens claimed to have received their orders. One user wrote,

    “2 months late but I have bought a few things from there and they've been fine”

    As of the writing of this article, Teleteeshirt has restricted users access to its X account, where it posted images from its design featuring Charlie Kirk’s death.

    TOPICS: Teleetshirt, Charlie Kirk